“This Isn’t A Toy. This Is Serious Business.”

The mainstream media is sounding a little concerned about the National Rifle Association’s Trigger the Vote voter registration drive, including this post from USA Today:

A suggestive ad by the NRA for its voter registration campaign will likely get tongues wagging.

The spot features a father talking to his son in a somber tone about something that’s not a toy, but is important to protect their family. He unlocks a case to reveal … a voter registration card.

The ad is part of the National Rifle Association’s Trigger the Vote campaign, aimed at increasing the number of registered voters — especially among gun owners. Andrew Arulanandam, public affairs director at the NRA, said the ad will run online and on cable backed by a seven-figure buy.

The NRA is hoping to register gun owners ahead of the 2014 mid-term elections, with the goal of expanding the number of pro-gun representatives in the House of Representatives, and helping Republicans seize control of the Senate and effectively shut down gun control on the federal level.

Michael Bloomberg has pledged $50 million to try to register and turn-out voters to support candidates in favor of gun control.

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When I instruct at Appleseed, one of my fellow instructors in the North Carolina cadre likes to point out that the Founding Fathers fought a long and brutal war in order to give us the gift of several boxes.

The soap box.

The ballot box.

The cartridge box.

The soap box of course refers to the right to free speech, to debate and disagree. The ballot box enables us to vote for candidates that best represent our views.

It was the sincere hope of the Founders that the citizens of the nation they founded would be able to go many years using just the first two boxes, and I suspect they would be pleasantly surprised to discover that we’ve only gone to the cartridge box just once (1861-65) since we became a nation to settle our differences.

While cynics say otherwise, voting does indeed matter. If you haven’t registered to vote, make sure that you and all your pro-gun friends register to vote, and that they turn out in November to ensure that their opinion matters. Elections are won and policies are decided by voter turnout.